Did you know that all three of our Thailand-based programs have an elephant component? These majestic creatures are very ingrained in Thai history, culture, and tourism, and learning more about them is a must. (Plus, they’re incredibly cool animals!) Check out the highlights below from our Thailand programs!

Thailand: In & Beyond the Classroom

This program has a 14-day and a 21-day option, and while the main theme of the program is Children & Education, one of the adventure components is a full day spent at a local elephant sanctuary! During this day trip, students have a chance to assist in taking care of the elephants, bathing the elephants in the river, and observing and assisting with feeding time.

Visit Program Page | Download Sample Itinerary

            

Thailand: Elephant Sanctuary Project

One this 14-day program, students spend one week volunteering at an elephant sanctuary and one week teaching English in a local primary school. During the week at the elephant sanctuary, students work with locals who have committed their lives to promoting healthy relationships between humans and elephants. Service projects include helping by harvesting organic elephant food, feeding the animals and helping with daily tasks of the sanctuary.

Visit Program Page | Download Sample Itinerary

 

Thailand: Elephant Conservation Expedition

Our Elephant Conservation Expedition is a 21-day program, and it actually has THE MOST elephant interaction out of all 3 programs! Unfortunately we don’t have GLA photo highlights just yet because it’s a brand new program for summer 2019, but there’s no doubt in our mind that we’ll have tons of amazing photos to share once the program begins!

Visit Program Page | Download Sample Itinerary

We’re nearly halfway through our 2019 Spring Break season, and our student groups have accomplished so much already! From building bottle structures and hosting medical brigades in the Dominican Republic, to patrolling local beaches to protect nesting sea turtles in Costa Rica – here are some of our favorite photo highlights from this year’s Spring Break programs!

Costa Rica: Spring Break Sea Turtle Initiative

Dominican Republic: Spring Break Service Adventure (Global Health Track)

Dominican Republic: Spring Break Service Adventure (Community Impact Track)

   

 

Friday March 22, 2019

Hola!

We are so happy to say that the Cascade Crest team has arrived safely to Cusco, and has settled into home base. We made resting priority today but managed to squeeze in orientation, two home cooked meals, and even a trip to the bodega to get some snacks.

We have a long day of work ahead of us tomorrow. Hugh has volunteered to be our first leader of the day, which will be responsible for our blog posts, as well as a variety of other tasks, so you’ll be hearing from him tomorrow!

* Hill was napping during the group pic, don’t worry he’s here!

From team Peru – Juan Carlos, Adriana and Patricia

Saturday March 23, 2019

Today was a very productive and tiring day. We woke up (or at least attempted to) at 7:30am and had a filling breakfast before we headed out for a day full of service and sunburns! Everyone pulled their weight and worked hard. We made a ton of progress at the work site. Everyone is doing well with the altitude and we are all going to hit our beds a little extra hard tonight!

Sunday March 24, 2019

We started our second full day in Peru with eggs and really delicious homemade almond milk then quickly set off to check out some tourist/archeological sites on the outskirts of Cusco. People took pictures with cute baby Alpacas and we toured some pretty breathtaking ruins before heading into the center of Cusco where we ate a super fancy Lunch. After that we headed to the market where we spent a few hours buying some authentic Peruvian “Swag.” Then we took a quick bus ride back to the hostel where we ate our dinner and watched a movie. Everyone’s excited to go to the school tomorrow and meet the kids!

Monday March 25, 2019

Monday was our first day at the school. We spent the morning in classrooms with 4 and 5 year old students. Everyone enjoyed the art and English activities, practicing shapes and colors through drawing. Even with the language barrier, the children and our group laughed, played and connected.

After lunch we returned to the school to help make Christmas cards. Every year the school sells Christmas cards to donors internationally, raising money for the school and the students. Along with making over 320 cards, everyone painted picture frames and helped craft other supplies. These picture frames along with photos of students are gifted annually to parents, as photos and frames are expensive and uncommon in the area.

Dinner was followed by an amazing cultural experience- futbol (soccer) at a neighborhood pitch with locals. We lived up to the challenge of playing soccer for an hour at 11,000 ft above sea level! Getting back to the house, we enjoyed a post-game second dinner of pizza. Gracias to Patricia for coordinating the pizza delivery!